IUCN status: Vulnerable
EPBC Predator Threat Rating: Not assessed
IUCN claim: “On the mainland, predation by introduced feral Cat and Red Foxes was the major cause of extinction in the wild”
Cats were predators, or the main predators, of reintroduced, predator-inexperienced, hare-wallabies in two locations (Gibson et al. 1994; Hardman & Moro 2006; Hardman et al. 2016). Cats can hunt locally-born wallabies (Paltridge et al. 1997). Hare-wallabies were last confirmed in south-west Australia 58 years after foxes arrived (Current submission).
Lundie-Jenkins et al. (1993) found no spatial correlation one year, and a positive correlation another year, between cats and hare-wallabies. Cats breached the enclosures of two semi-captive hare-wallaby colonies, none were hunted in 5-8 weeks (from Moseby et al. 2015). Hare-wallabies were last confirmed in the Tanami Desert 106 years after cats arrived (Current submission).
There are no studies evidencing a negative association between cats
and rufous hare-wallaby populations. The fate of reintroduced animals is
not a reliable proxy for the fate of populations. In contradiction with
the claim, the two species co-occurred for over half a century in one
locale and for over a century in another.
Evidence linking Lagorchestes hirsutus to cats. A. Systematic review of evidence for an association between Lagorchestes hirsutus and cats. Positive studies are in support of the hypothesis that cats contribute to the decline of Lagorchestes hirsutus, negative studies are not in support. Predation studies include studies documenting hunting or scavenging; baiting studies are associations between poison baiting and threatened mammal abundance where information on predator abundance is not provided; population studies are associations between threatened mammal and predator abundance. B. Last records of extirpated populations relative to earliest local records of cats. Error bars show record uncertainty range. Predator arrival records were digitized from Abbott 2008. See methods section in [current submission] for details on evidence categories.
Abbott, The spread of the cat, Felis catus, in Australia: re-examination of the current conceptual model with additional information. Conservation Science Western Australia 7 (2008).
Current submission (2023) Scant evidence that introduced predators cause extinctions.
Gibson, D.F., Lundie-Jenkins, G., Langford, D.G., Cole, J.R. and Johnson, K.A., 1994. Predation by feral cats, Felis catus, on the rufous hare-wallaby, Lagorchestes hirsutus, in the Tanami Desert. Australian Mammalogy, 17(1), pp.103-107.
Hardman, B. and Moro, D., 2006. Optimising reintroduction success by delayed dispersal: is the release protocol important for hare-wallabies?. Biological Conservation, 128(3), pp.403-411.
Hardman, B., Moro, D. and Calver, M., 2016. Direct evidence implicates feral cat predation as the primary cause of failure of a mammal reintroduction programme. Ecological Management & Restoration, 17(2), pp.152-158.
IUCN Red List. https://www.iucnredlist.org/ Accessed June 2023
Lundie-Jenkins, G., Corbett, L.K., Phillips, C.M. 1993. Ecology of the rufous hare-wallaby, Lagorchestes hirsutus Gould (Marsupialia : Macropodidae) in the Tanami Desert, Northern Territory. III Interactions with introduced mammal species. Wildlife Research, 20(4), pp 495-511.
Paltridge, R., Gibson, D. and Edwards, G., 1997. Diet of the feral cat (Felis catus) in central Australia. Wildlife Research, 24(1), pp.67-76.